With nearly three-fourths of auto dealers today using a CRM system, it’s clear that dealerships understand the benefits that a CRM can bring their business. But understanding the possibilities of a CRM is only the first step. Your people have to actually use it.
No CRM system – no matter how slick or technologically advanced – is going to do it for you. Technology doesn’t sell cars; your people sell cars. And your people need training.
Our product trainers and performance managers have trained and retrained hundreds of Connect CRM users, and they’ve noticed a few key elements of a training program that often predict if a dealership team will utilize their CRM to its full potential.
Full Participation in Training
It isn’t enough for someone to be physically present for CRM training; they have to be engaged. We offer interactive, role-specific courses to our Connect clients because new users need to understand why a CRM is important to their particular role. To be engaged in training, users need to understand what’s in it for them. In-Software Practice As our Director of Training Chris Hawthorne puts it, you can read a book on how to swim, but if you haven’t gotten in the water and practiced, things probably aren’t going to end well. To learn a CRM, users need real-world, application-based training sessions that force them into the deep end of the software. VinSolutions uses in-CRM training called “WalkMe” to show clients how to use Connect CRM.
Continuous Learning
There are a couple of reasons that CRM training must take place on an ongoing process:
A good CRM is one that constantly evolves to improve functionality. Ongoing training keeps users up to speed on the latest and greatest features.
When you’re first starting out with a new CRM, it can be hard to know what questions to ask. Users typically need some time in the weeds of a CRM before they begin to know what they don’t know.
One of the best continuous learning opportunities we offer our Connect users is VinWorx, our annual user summit.
